CRIME MAPPING

The use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) in the criminal justice field has its roots in the earlier generation of
police crime maps. Historically, law enforcement agencies and other organizations used hardcopy pin maps to chart
criminal activity; but these maps were static and, as crime rates increased, difficult to maintain. In recent years, with
advances in quick and user-friendly software, manual pin mapping has given way to computerized crime mapping.

GIS is an application that links database1 software to graphics software to create visual images of various types of
data in map format. It is a unique tool for analyzing physical space and conveying perspective. Presenting data in the
form of a map helps agencies understand the significance of where, when, and by whom crimes are committed.

Technological advancements have enabled agencies to collect enormous amounts of data. In the law enforcement
field, a rise in crime and an increase in the number of calls for service have led to a greater need to sort, organize,
analyze, and disseminate data. As a result, criminal justice agencies are turning to GIS software and the latest crime-
mapping techniques to deliver data in a more efficient and instructive manner. In addition, using GIS to map crime
and criminal behavior eliminates the rampant duplication of efforts among agencies.

This has prompted the introduction and application of GIS technologies in the victim service field. Consequently,
there is a growing need to educate and guide agencies that rely on other means of recording their data in the
direction of implementing GIS. For example, if a VOCA compensation administrator wants to create a visual depiction
of the location of applicants, street addresses and other relevant information can be converted into a database format
and linked to a graphics software application. In this example, the link is based on the street address. Other spatial or
geographic identifiers2 that could be used include ZIP Codes and census tracts.3 This particular example would allow
administrators to analyze locations that generate victim compensation claims. Areas that lack applications could be
examined to determine whether additional applications can be generated and if administrators need to plan for
outreach to those areas.

GIS software represents data on a map using points, lines, and polygons.4 Features that can be represented as
points include streetlight poles, crime events, and bus stops. Bus routes, streets, and rivers are usually represented
using lines; counties, states, and ZIP Codes are depicted using polygons. GIS software is designed to capture, store,
manage, integrate, and manipulate various layers of data, allowing the user to visualize and analyze the data in a
spatial environment (exhibit 1).

Most GIS applications contain base information that orients the map to the reader. Some examples of base
information include roads and state and county boundaries. One easy way to visualize base layers is to think about
the information found in a road atlas.

In GIS, a database can represent a layer of information and that can be expanded to create additional layers. For
example, the OVC Subgrant Award Report System (SARS) could be one layer, with the location of all subgrantees
defined as individual points on that layer. Another layer of data could be added by querying the SARS database for a
particular type of service provider, such as programs for survivors of homicide victims. This additional layer would be
mapped using a different color or graphic symbol.

The real power of GIS is that it gives users the ability to analyze multiple layers of information. Not only can users
create additional layers from a single database, they can also integrate disparate datasets5 from other sources such
as police departments, planning and housing agencies, and the tax assessor’s office (exhibit 2). Each agency’s data
would become another layer of information in GIS. With this layering of information, users can discern spatial
relationships among previously disassociated data. For example, the layer of SARS information could be overlaid
with incidents of domestic violence data from local police departments about locations of courts handling domestic
violence cases and locations of public transportation systems. With this displayed information, users could examine
how accessible services and the criminal justice system are for domestic violence victims.

GIS can pinpoint the physical location of features6 in every layer. It allows an administrator to conduct spatial
searches or queries in addition to tabular database queries. For example, a tabular database query can retrieve
information about the increase or decrease in the number of crime victim compensation claims submitted in a
particular region. What a tabular query cannot show is whether there has been a spatial displacement or diffusion of
claims. In other words, has the number of claims remained the same but shifted from one neighborhood to another,
or has the number of claims been diffused due to additional resources in an area?
Another example of a spatial search would be to determine the proximity of one location to another. For instance, one
dataset or layer shows school locations, while another indicates crime locations involving juveniles. Overlaying this
data in GIS, users can identify crimes that occurred within 1,000 feet of a school. This information can be used to
determine where services could be located most effectively (exhibit 3) and could lead to an understanding of the
spatial relationship between crimes and school locations.

Although GIS software packages can be purchased containing base information such as streets and census data,
most GIS also require agency-specific data. A VOCA administrator could tailor a GIS to fit his or her requirements by
populating it with other data, such as VOCA subgrantee service areas, which could be used to examine statewide
coverage or types of crime to plan for general or specialized services. In summary, GIS is a powerful mapping tool
that allows agencies to identify their data spatially to better analyze data relationships.

If an agency collects data via Excel, Access, Quattro Pro, Paradox, Oracle, SQL Server, or any other type of
spreadsheet or database management system, the data have potential for use in GIS, but must have a geographic
reference. Generally, ZIP Codes, street addresses, or x–y coordinates are used to link data to the map by geocoding,
or plotting on a map, the data. For example (exhibit 4), a street address such as 1150 Main Street can be matched
against a street centerline7 file to determine its location. The geocoding function will link an address to its approximate
location on the street segment based on its number. For example, 1150 Main Street would be placed on the even
side of the street about halfway between the 1100 and 1200 blocks.

To protect private and confidential information, sensitive data are geocoded to the street block, ZIP Code, or census-
tract level rather than the street level to reduce the possibility of identifying an individual from the mapped data.

Creating Maps

Crime mapping has its roots in cartography8 and comes with its own set of rules and limitations. When publishing an
article, authors always cite information resources. When constructing a map, cartographers always cite the source of
the data and the software used to create the map. If citations are left out, the map is incomplete and users may
misinterpret the information displayed. It is also recommended that mapmakers include disclaimers and/or additional
information to eliminate any misinterpretation of the material. A variety of maps can be created using GIS software,
but the three most common are pin maps, thematic maps, and association or integrated maps.

Pin Maps

Pin maps—which use push pins to identify important Questions To Consider (Exhibit 5)

locations—have long helped police officers patrol

One of the unique qualities of GIS is that it creates
new information and stimulates questions. For
neighborhoods and detectives investigate crimes. GIS
instance, some questions that could be generated
from the Washington, D.C., pin map include
enables law enforcement agencies to create, update,

duplicate, and distribute pin maps more efficiently and  
easily. Administrators of VOCA victim assistance can plot
the locations of victim service providers on pin maps to
identify gaps in and duplication of services. Victim service
providers can display the vicinity of crime victims to better
 Were the number of applications for crime
victim compensation consistent with the
number of homicides that occurred in the
area?
 Are services available to the survivors of
homicide victims?
 Where are services located?

coordinate their efforts with other providers. The pin map is one of the easiest maps to create. Exhibit 5 shows the

locations of all homicides that occurred in Washington, D.C., in 1994 and 1995. During the 2-year period, there were

756 murders and all but one occurred east of the Rock Creek Park.9 Although the points on the map only show

location, they reveal a spatial significance that cannot be discerned using a tabular query.
Thematic Maps Questions To Consider (Exhibit 6)

A thematic map can identify the density value of a particular
attribute, such as the number of assaults, crime victim
Questions To Consider (Exhibit 7)
 Are a sufficient number of claims being
generated based on this assault data?
 Where are hospital emergency rooms
located?
 Are admission staff trained in
compensation?
 Is there a victim advocate in the police
department in areas with higher
assault rates?
 Are other state and federal resources,
in addition to victim compensation and
  assistance, being integrated in the
public housing communities?
In 1998, the U.S. Department of Justice launched
the Strategic Approaches to Community Safety
Initiative, a multiagency collaborative approach to
reduce crime in communities by using data-driven
of problem solving. One major component of this
project has been the development of the Community
Safety Information System (CSIS), a GIS that
provides spatial analysis capabilities for addressing
crime. Exhibit 7 is an integrated map created from
CSIS data collected in Winston-Salem, North
Carolina, the pilot site for the initiative.
 Is the density of subgrantees consistent
with population?
 Is the density of subgrantees consistent
 
with the crime rate?
 What types of services are provided in all
counties?
 Where are the gaps?
service centers, or victim compensation claims in a
geographically defined boundary composed of a state,
police precinct, county, neighborhood, census tract, or
victim service provider catchment area (see exhibit 10).
In exhibit 6, density values are used to create a map,
with shaded colors representing the different values
between the boundaries, that allows users to examine
patterns across selected boundaries. The shading of
thematic maps ranges from light to dark, with the lightest
shade representing the lowest value and the darkest
shade representing the highest value. Exhibit 6 shows
the density of California VOCA subgrantees by county.
Association or Integrated Maps
Association or integrated maps are usually a combination
a pin map and a thematic map. Exhibit 7 combines data
from North Carolina’s Winston-Salem Police Department
(WSPD), the Winston-Salem Housing Department, and
the U.S. Census Bureau. In this map, aggravated
assaults and public housing units are identified with
points, while the population demographics are
represented with various shades of the same color and
organized by police district boundaries.

This map spatially contextualizes10 the data. Here, WSPD chose to view census data reaggregated to police beat
boundaries. With this type of map, WSPD can view income, population, gender, race, and other factors within the
boundaries that represent the department’s work environment. Winston-Salem manages and allocates police
department resources by police districts. By reaggregating census data, information has been made more applicable
to department needs. For instance, WSPD may choose to increase resources in communities with large numbers of
public housing units. Integrated crime mapping allows WSPD to make strategic administrative decisions based on
contextualized data.

How GIS Is Used in Law Enforcement

GIS does not replace a law enforcement agency’s process of collecting and storing information in a database. Rather,
it enhances the agency’s ability to use the data. However, the use of contextualization raises new concerns about the
need for privacy and confidentiality guidelines.

For example, a map can be created to show when and where a crime occurred with what type of weapon was used,
whether a victim was present, whether the victim was male or female, and so forth. Once data, such as the income
level of Hispanic females between ages 18 and 25, is entered into a GIS database, the user can overlay that
information with a specific crime, such as recent homicides or rapes occurring in the neighborhood between 8 p.m.
and midnight. Overlaying specific crimes with ethnicity, age, and gender may inadvertently reveal the identity of a
victim. Therefore, the creators of GIS data layers must be aware of confidential and sensitive data and the need to
take precautions to protect victims’ rights and privacy.

GIS usage enhances a police officer’s time on the streets. An officer with access to GIS software and additional
datasets, such as parolee and probationer data, can run queries from a laptop in the patrol car using the Community
Policing Beat Book. The Community Policing Beat Book is a crime-mapping tool created by Environmental Systems
Research Institute (ESRI), funded by NIJ,11 and tailored for law enforcement agencies. Officers can use it to check
how many parolees or probationers were recently released on their beat, the conditions of their release, and if they
have violated any of these conditions.

In addition to plotting the geographical attributes of criminal phenomena, law enforcement agencies seek answers to
why a specific crime occurs in a certain area. In 1982, George L. Kelling and James Q. Wilson developed the Broken
Windows theory to describe the relationship between disorder and crime in a neighborhood. They concluded that as
the physical environment in a neighborhood deteriorates the crime rate increases. Newly opened adult bookstores
selling pornographic materials, check cashing stores, and vacant housing are predictors of declining neighborhoods.
By highlighting aspects of a crime on a map with neighborhood attributes, crime analysts can contextualize the data
and gain insight about why crimes occur.

Some law enforcement agencies use crime mapping to show where registered child sex offenders live. They
compare the locations of child sex offenders with the locations of the town’s schools. A buffer zone is drawn around
each school to observe how close the known offenders live to these potential target areas. The sheriff’s department in
San Bernardino County, California, is one agency that uses this technique. Exhibit 8 shows how the Redding Police
Department in Redding, California, uses this technique to map registered child sex offenders.

One department goal is to register sex offenders with local law enforcement, a requirement under Section 290 of the
California Penal Code. Another goal has been to arrest individuals who have violated the conditions of their parole or
probation. In 1999, 3 of 36 targeted registrants were arrested for noncompliance with the penal code or some
violation of parole or probation. In addition, county officers issued warrants for 25 other registrants. For more details,
check out Crime Mapping Case Studies: Successes in the Field,  Volume 2 (La Vigne and Wartell, 2000).

Similarly, a victim service provider could use GIS to track and map the location of both offenders and/or victims who
were issued protection orders in stalking cases. GIS software can map the home address of an individual, taking into
consideration the conditions of the protection order associated with the offender. Distance buffers can then be drawn
around these locations and reveal violations or compliance with the specified restrictions.

How State VOCA Administrators Can Use GIS

State VOCA administrators can use GIS in many ways. As an analytical tool, GIS can identify trends and patterns not
discernible by tabular inquiries. An example would be exploring the relationship between addresses of applicants for
crime victim compensation and locations of crime to learn whether an appropriate number of applications is being
submitted from neighborhoods with high crime rates.

GIS facilitates data-driven decisionmaking. By using multiple-source data, administrators can analyze problems in
greater depth. For example, integrating information on subgrants funded by VOCA victim assistance, the Violence
Against Women Act (VAWA), the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Rape Prevention and Education
Grant Program, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Family Violence Prevention Funds into one
data warehouse can be key to developing a statewide financial plan for victim services. GIS can be used in
operations by using its funding data to determine which organizations will receive VOCA victim assistance grants.
Because GIS can track changes over time, it can evaluate strategies. If a VOCA victim assistance administrator
responds to requests for increased services in African-American communities by developing plans for delivering
services and awarding grants to appropriate organizations, the administrator can track the use of services from those
grants on a regular basis. If certain programs are accessed as expected and others are not, the administrator can use
this information to ask questions about the patterns of use and explore further options.

Administrators can use GIS to disseminate information to advisory groups and the public and to conduct legislative
analysis. GIS can be used to coordinate services with other agencies and organizations, as in child abuse
investigation and treatment teams that include cross-jurisdictional involvement of law enforcement, prosecution, child
protective services, and health and mental health services.

In summary, GIS can be a valuable tool in helping administrators implement a comprehensive and seamless service
delivery system for crime victims.

How Administrators of VOCA Victim Assistance Can Use GIS

Several factors can influence where and why crime occurs, including the distance from an offender’s residence,
familiarity with his or her surroundings, and accessibility to and knowledge of the victim
(www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/maps). Therefore, mapping incidents of crime, locations of crime victims, and potential
crime hot spots can help in making decisions about where to locate victim services.

As previously mentioned, one of the more recognized GIS capabilities is its visual display of information. For many
individuals, information that is spatially displayed is more easily communicated and understood. GIS can improve
presentation of information at planning, policy, and funding meetings by displaying the information in various formats,
such as maps, reports, and tables accompanied by descriptive narratives.

To illustrate mapping crime victim services as an administrative tool, the State of California is depicted in exhibits
9 and 10. The data source used is the OVC SARS database. Subgrantees are geocoded by their ZIP Codes using
ESRI’s ArcView 3.2 software. Using a pin map, one can identify areas where available services are more densely
located (exhibit 9). This overview of the state is a starting point that will provide information to further develop
regional analysis.

Victim assistance administrators can plot the catchment areas of victim service providers on a map along with the
victim population groups served. Overlaying this information with the types of crimes committed can help determine
what additional services are needed in which locations for underserved groups.

For example, areas with many reports of crimes against the elderly may need specialized services. Using law
enforcement crime reports and calls-for-service information, VOCA administrators can examine areas where the
greatest density of these incidents occur and overlay this information with the locations and use rates of existing
victim services, senior housing, senior citizen centers, meals-on-wheels programs, and other services. VOCA
assistance administrators can use this information to work with these organizations to establish needed services.

When administrators must manage or coordinate multiple funding sources that cross legal boundaries (e.g., states,
Indian Country, neighborhoods, or cities), GIS can help them better allocate the funds by creating a map of current
funding and developing other maps to demonstrate statewide coverage of victim services. This is done by using GIS
to reconfigure the distribution of funds. Using the previous example of crimes against elders, victim services funding
can be coordinated with other funding for elder services to create a more accessible and victim-friendly system.

In exhibit 10, GIS mapping reveals how accessible services are to minority crime victims. It shows estimates of
California’s Hispanic population and the locations of subgrantees. Administrators can use this information to
determine which programs must have the bilingual and bicultural capacity to provide services to this ethnic group.

A GIS containing census data on Hispanics, African-Americans, Asians, and Native Americans can help
administrators plan for delivery of services in these communities. This information can be linked to other maps with
specific features, such as jurisdictional boundaries, public transportation routes, sites accessible to people with
disabilities, and geographic terrain that complicates service delivery. Administrators can use this information to plan
service development and outreach.
 Questions To Consider (Exhibit 12)

 What crime victim populations do these

In the next map, we move from a state to a much smaller
area, the City of New Haven, Connecticut (exhibit 11). This
map shows the locations of VOCA-funded subgrantees and
 
raises questions about what other services are available for
crime victims. Additional research resulted in the new map
(exhibit 12), which shows 21 additional service locations,
reflecting much greater coverage.
providers serve?
 What is the service area of each provider?
 Do the services meet the needs of the
population based on the types of crimes
committed?

To provide a comprehensive picture of available services, additional contextual mapping could add layers of provider
agencies’ service areas and of the public transportation system in relation to courts, police stations and substations,
and residential areas.

The next example shows the location of VOCA subgrantees covering the states of California and Nevada in a
variation on the pin map (exhibit 13). Graduated symbols are used to indicate ZIP Codes that contain more than one
subgrantee. The larger the circle, the greater the number of points located within the polygon. In this case, the
number of subgrantees within a ZIP Code varies from 1 to 26. Five different sizes of circles are used to indicate
various groupings (0–2, 3–7, 8–12, 13–17, 18–26). This map uses 169 geocoded ZIP Codes.

Bordering states that do not share information are limited in their ability to ascertain whether adjacent geographical
areas are adequately served. Communicating and sharing
spatial data across state boundaries and between agencies Questions To Consider (Exhibit 14)
minimizes the duplication of services, allowing
administrators to maximize services to areas where the rate  Are services being expanded in areas with
and types of victimization exceed the services available. increased population?
Conversely, noted in this map is a 17,000-square-mile area  Does funding have to be reallocated? If so,
with no visible subgrantee—a point of consideration for   what happens if some communities lose
both California and Nevada administrators. funding?
 Do the changes in population coincide with
Exhibit 14 is another example of an effective use of maps. changes in population in bordering states?
It shows three images of Nevada that show changes in  Can service providers be shared?
population by areas of the state. Note the results of slow
but steady growth between 1990 and 1999 in the northeast
and southwest. This information can affect decisions on
how best to allocate funds statewide.

With GIS, an administrator could quickly add several years of population data with service locations to discern
whether the population density has increased or decreased in proximity to services provided, possibly explaining a
change in victims served. An overlay indicating recent changes in transportation routes could explain why there had
been an increase in those seeking assistance. GIS can quickly produce multiple scenarios by integrating and
overlaying disparate datasets, allowing for a wide array of possibilities for analysis and support for strategic planning.

How Administrators of VOCA Victim Compensation Can Use GIS

Administrators of VOCA crime victim compensation may be interested in several of the preceding exhibit maps. The
map showing California subgrantees can be overlaid with data from crime victim compensation claims to examine
whether subgrantees are generating expected claims. Using the map showing the changes in the population of
Nevada, administrators can examine whether there is an increase in crime and a commensurate increase in claims in
areas with increased populations. They can use this information to plan outreach activities.

The true benefits of GIS technology are realized when data Questions To Consider (Exhibit 15)
are shared and integrated into an organization’s daily
operations. With access to crime data, administrators of
 What is the frequency of crime incidents
VOCA crime victim compensation can quickly identify the
and the frequency of victims receiving
locations of crime and crime victims. They can then more  
compensation?
accurately predict the numbers and types of claims that will
be generated from those locations. Exhibit 15 indicates the  How does this information affect outreach
number of crime victims who received compensation in planning?
relation to the location of crimes in Pittsburgh,
Pennsylvania, and shows that applications are not coming
from the areas where crime occurs. Discrepancies in the data may occur, however, if victims use their resident
addresses to apply for compensation rather than the addresses of where the crime occurred. For more information,
administrators of crime victim compensation could overlay a map of subgrantees with a map of claims applications to
see if subgrantees are generating a sufficient number of applications.

Administrators of crime victim compensation can use the information on VAWA grants as shown in the State of
Georgia (exhibit 16) to identify counties where additional service providers may be available to make referrals.

How Subgrantees, Crime Victim Assistance Coalitions, and Victim Service

Providers Can Use Crime Mapping

Crime victim services subgrantees, coalitions, and providers can use GIS to study crime rates and resources in
specific areas to improve allocation of resources, such as placing victim advocates in community centers, police
departments, or courts. When gaps in services are identified, grant writers can incorporate this data into applications
for federal, state, local, and foundation funding, thus documenting the scope of the problem for proposal reviewers.

GIS technology uses a process called buffering to create a barrier or zone around an area to be investigated or
analyzed. For example, victims of domestic violence need many different services and are often dependent on public
transportation in urban areas. In this instance, coalitions and service providers may want to buffer12 the area
surrounding bus routes to determine how accessible police departments, shelters, courts, and social services are to
victims of domestic violence. Networking13 is another process used to calculate optimum travel distances from all
service locations or to determine optimum minimum distances between service locations.

Sexual assault coalitions can develop maps of assault locations, offering a broader look at where assaults occur or
where victims reside. Child abuse coalitions can map the location of registered child molesters and overlay this
information with data on the locations of schools and playgrounds to ensure supervision of offenders and protection
of children (see exhibits 3 and 8).

State coalitions for crime victim assistance and providers of victim services can use GIS to identify underserved
victims of crime, such as victims of physical assault, burglary, robbery, drunk driving, arson, and hate crime, and
victims who are family members of homicide victims. This information can be shared among several groups working
to plan for and serve these populations. This powerful tool allows the various coalitions to jointly assess and analyze
crime on a larger scale by producing maps that can be shared and allow for joint strategic planning to develop a
seamless delivery system for crime victims.

Mapping Victim Services

When creating a mapping system for crime victim services, different types of data can be integrated and different
types of maps can be created. This information can be broken down into four categories—victim services, criminal
justice, health and social services, and generic.

Examples of victim services data include

 VOCA-funded subgrantee locations and catchment areas.

 Other victim services programs by location and catchment areas.
 Funding of services by multiple funding sources.
 Types of services available by location.
 Locations of claimants for crime victim compensation (awarded and denied).
 Dollar amounts of compensation claims awarded by geographic area.
 Number of victims served by compensation programs.
 Number of victims served by victim services organizations.

Examples of criminal justice data include

 Number of crime incidents.

 Types of crime incidents.
  Locations of police stations, substations, and patrols.
 Computer-aided dispatch calls.
 Firearms purchases.
 Locations of prisons and jails.
 Locations of criminal and juvenile courts.
 Open-air drug markets.
 Gang locations.
 Jurisdictional lines for state police, county sheriffs, tribal police, and municipal police.
 Number of protective or restraining orders.

Examples of health and social services data include

 Locations of public assistance agencies.

 Locations of public housing.
 Locations of hospitals and emergency rooms.
 Locations of mental health programs.
 Locations of youth shelters.

Examples of generic data include

 Census data.
 Neighborhood boundaries.
 State, county, and Indian Country boundaries.
 School locations.
 Business locations.
 Transportation routes.
 Park and recreation areas.

Getting Started

It is easy to talk about what GIS will do, but getting started is another matter. Recognizing this, there are a
couple of steps to consider. First, obtain training for staff who will introduce GIS technology to all levels of
your agency. Coordinate presentations on what GIS is and what it can do.

Remember, thinking spatially about data is a learned skill. If you spend time teaching the basics of GIS and
generate some enthusiasm about the concept, you can avoid a lot of confusion and reluctance down the
road. Remember, GIS is a tool that enables an agency to make better use of the data it is already collecting.

Second, perform a needs assessment. A needs assessment is simply a methodological evaluation of an

agency’s existing needs, resources, and goals. It is a structured approach by which an organization is
prompted to ask the right questions when considering implementing a GIS system. Some basic questions to
consider are highlighted below.

What Are the Needs and Goals of Our Agency?

To build a GIS system to address the needs of your agency, you must first identify those needs. How will
you use GIS? Will you use it to support management decisions, to evaluate existing initiatives and projects,
and/or as a predictive modeling tool to identify the location of future subgrants? You can use a GIS system
for all of these purposes and more, but knowing what you want to do before you begin will help you define
the data needed to support the application.

What Types of Queries Do We Want Supported by the GIS Application?

If you purchase an off-the-shelf GIS software package, the system likely will contain an ad hoc14 type of
querying capability. In other words, any data that you have loaded or integrated into the system can be
accessed and queried. However, you may choose to customize the application to address your specific
 needs. For example, here are two types of query options: One is the ad hoc query used by ArcView 3.1
(exhibit 17) and the other is a screen shot of a customized query15 built for Connecticut’s New Haven Police
Department (exhibit 18).

As you can see, a generic query builder is much more flexible but requires more technical expertise and knowledge
about the data. A customized query builder requires less training but is more data restrictive. The user only has
access to the data fields defined by the drop-down menu. In the New Haven query menu, users can access several
tables but are limited to the particulars of the crime, date, age, time, and day of the week. However, the tables contain
much more information than what the menu is displaying (exhibit 18).

What Are Base Maps and Where Can We Get Them?

Base maps are the foundation of a GIS. Typically, they comprise a street centerline and a geographic backdrop such
as the census tract, ZIP Code, and/or county and state boundaries. Street centerlines of almost every city, state, or
region can be purchased from vendors or downloaded free from the Internet by accessing the U.S. Census Bureau
TIGER Files at www.census.gov. TIGER (Topologically Integrated Geographic Encoding and Referencing) is a
nationwide, seamless, digital map. Most city information systems departments or planning departments also have
centerline files they may be willing to share, especially with other government agencies or nonprofit organizations.
These locally generated centerline files tend to be more accurate and detailed because they are created at the local
level and are updated more often than the Census Bureau’s.

What Additional Data Needs To Be Collected To Support the Application?

In addition to using your own data, you may want to integrate additional data from other sources, such as census
figures, law enforcement data, and transportation information. VOCA administrators may choose to collect and share
information across state boundaries and between compensation and assistance programs to minimize repetition and
duplicate efforts. Some agencies will share information about a case or a person depending on how relevant it is to
their agency and privacy concerns. Of course, any information shared should not be identifiable to a specific
individual. The only instance in which this should occur would be if more than one agency is working with crime
victims and the information sharing is allowed by state law or by informed consent of the victims.

Privacy and Confidentiality

NIJ’s MAPS, through a contract with the Institute for Law and Justice (ILJ), developed the guide Privacy in
the Information Age: Guidelines for Sharing Crime Maps and Spatial Data to address privacy and data
confidentiality when using GIS. The report is available for downloading from ILJ’s Web site at www.ilj.org,
and hard copies are available from NIJ. The guidelines discuss options and requirements for addressing
privacy, confidentiality, and data sharing and address concerns about the dissemination of geocoded data
and the balance between the public’s right to know and the victim’s right to privacy. The report outlines some
of the mechanisms and techniques used to protect privacy and provides Web resources for online mapping
efforts.

What Are Our Data Formats and How Can We Integrate Disparate Datasets?

Mapping systems can integrate various data formats.17 However, the most common format is that of a database file, a
file extension ending in .dbf.  Fortunately, most spreadsheet tables can be converted easily to database files to make
them ready for integration into a GIS. You can usually convert them by choosing “save as” under the file drop-down
menu of your software, choosing a .dbf file extension, and following the steps prompted by the application.

Although creating a database warehouse for GIS would involve the input of a multitude of data, it would eliminate
redundant data collection by agencies. A VOCA database could contain information on crime incidents, victims and
offenders, locations of subgrantee recipients, compensation recipients, victim services programs, census data, and
jurisdictional and state boundaries. Obviously, data from various organizations will exist in differing formats, but
recent technologies make data conversions very easy.

Is Our Data Accurate and Timely?

It is critical that you know your data before using it in GIS. For example, does your community have a Martin Luther
King Boulevard? If so, how is it listed? MLK Blvd., Martin Luther King Street, MLK Jr., or another variation? All these
options are correct, but their variation may create difficulties when you try to geocode your data. This is a problem
many users face when they begin to use their data in a spatial environment. Most agencies have been collecting
address-level data for years. Generally, the quality of this data has been left to the discretion and integrity of the
person entering the data. The accuracy and standardization of this data will contribute to the overall ease or difficulty
with which the data is integrated into your GIS. Another issue to consider is the timeliness of data. Street files may
only need to be updated once a year, depending on the construction in the community, but records containing crime
incidents, arrests, and claims and subgrant award data may need to be updated more frequently.

What Are Our Hardware and Software Requirements?

Some of the above questions can be answered by staff members who are familiar with the data your agency collects.
However, when it comes to hardware and software requirements, it is better to consult with information technology
(IT) professionals who can help you define your GIS requirements based on your business needs and budget. IT
professionals can help identify the technical needs involved with implementing a GIS. For example, a GIS can be
implemented on the Internet, the Intranet, or as a stand-alone application loaded on an agency’s personal computer
(PC). IT professionals can tell you whether you should add more PCs to your department, install larger transmission
lines for faster data transfers, or increase the RAM (random-access memory) and hardware space on your existing
PCs. They can also evaluate your assets. Do you have an Intranet that can be used, firewalls in place for confidential
data, or other types of security that can be accessed such as password-protected applications? Other issues to be
addressed in a needs assessment include training for users, the experience of support personnel, system
maintenance, and software licenses.

The GIS package purchased for your program will have greater use if it is compatible with that of other agencies’
data. For efficiency’s sake, purchase software that can easily export and import GIS files into the appropriate
software packages. VOCA administrators and subgrantees within the same state should purchase systems that use
the same format for storing data to significantly reduce duplication of effort.

Building a GIS from scratch takes time, effort, and experience, but with today’s off-the-shelf desktop mapping
applications, developing and customizing a system to address specific organizational goals is relatively routine.

Training Resources Available

Information and Training

Three publicly funded agencies offer free training courses to help law enforcement personnel master crime-mapping
technology. VOCA administrators can also take these courses and adapt the information to victim services planning.

The Crime Mapping and Analysis Program (CMAP) at the University of Denver in Colorado offers a 2-week
introductory course and courses in more advanced applications. For course schedules and other information, contact
Noah Fritz by phone at 1–800–416–8086, by fax at 303–871–2500, or by e-mail at nfritz@du.edu.

The Carolinas Institute for Community Policing (CICP) offers courses that emphasize crime mapping technology as
an element of community policing. The courses are offered in six cities throughout North and South Carolina in both
technical and nontechnical formats. The technical portion is appropriate for crime analysts; the nontechnical portion is
appropriate for officers, administrators, and community members. For course schedules and other information,
contact Linda Waddell at CICP, Charlotte-Mecklenburg, North Carolina, Police Department, by phone at 704–336–
4899, by fax at 704–336–7799, or by e-mail at pdlw@mail.charmeck.nc.us.

Mapping and Analysis for Public Safety (MAPS), in collaboration with the Office of Community Oriented Policing
Services, offers training in crime mapping through Regional Community Policing Institutes. The center offers four
courses that are appropriate for police officers, crime analysts, community members, and researchers.

Tuition is free and training is held at Regional Community Policing Institutes throughout the country. The courses can
be downloaded from the MAPS Web site. To learn about how to become a trainer, how to host training classes, or
how to take the training, contact Richard Lumb, CICP Director, Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Department, by phone
at 704–336–2162, by fax at 704–336–7799, or by e-mail at rlumb@cmpd.ci.charlotte.nc.us.
The courses include

Crime Mapping for Community Policing and Problem Solving (4 hours): geared toward officers, community
members, and others who are interested in the basics of crime mapping.

Mapping for Managers (4 hours): geared toward administrators and managers who want to know about crime
mapping, what to ask for, and what to expect.

What Is Crime Mapping? (8 hours): geared toward analysts, officers, community members, and others who want a
more indepth look at crime mapping.

Integrating GIS Into an Organization (8 hours): geared toward analysts, officers, and others who are playing a role
in implementing crime mapping in their agency.

Other Resources

Other resources are available to help administrators of crime victim services in their efforts to use crime-mapping
technology. The following programs are available to provide onsite technical assistance on GIS to VOCA
administrators.

Technical Assistance

The Justice Information Systems Technical Assistance Program provided through SEARCH offers technical
assistance to state and local justice agencies in how to acquire, develop, manage, improve, and integrate their
automated information systems. SEARCH works with individual justice agencies (such as a police department
implementing a new records management system or a court acquiring a new case management system) and with
multidisciplinary groups of justice agencies to help them plan for and integrate their information systems at state,
local, and regional levels. For more than 20 years, SEARCH programs have provided both onsite and in-house, no-
cost technical assistance to justice agencies throughout the country. For more information, go
to http://www.search.org/programs/technology/.

Criminal Justice Statistical Analysis Centers

The Justice Research and Statistics Association (JRSA) is a nonprofit organization created in 1974 to promote the
use of research in policy decisions and to facilitate the exchange of criminal justice information among states. JRSA’s
50 constituent Statistical Analysis Centers are located in almost every state and territory, where they conduct
objective analyses to meet planning needs and address statewide policy issues. The association also maintains a
clearinghouse of state criminal justice research and programs, conducts multistate research, provides training and
technical assistance, and convenes national conferences. For more information go to www.jrsa.org.

University Statistics and Research Center

An alternative resource for consultation could be a statistics and research center at a nearby college or university.
Some examples are undergraduate or graduate schools of public administration, social work, criminal justice science,
and public health.

University Statistics and Research Internships

Agencies that are interested in using crime mapping may want to recruit interns from the local university or college to
help them in administrative and strategic planning efforts.

Funding GIS Development and Technical Assistance

VOCA
A major OVC responsibility is to administer the Crime Victims Fund, which is derived from fines and penalties paid by
federal criminal offenders. Nearly 90 percent of the money collected each year is distributed to states to help fund
their victim assistance and compensation programs. These programs help victims and their families.

Through the State Compensation and Assistance Division, OVC administers two formula/block grant programs:
Victim Assistance and Victim Compensation. During the past decade, these two programs have improved the
accessibility and quality of services to crime victims nationwide.

Approximately 10,000 community-based organizations across the Nation provide services to crime victims. VOCA
victim assistance funds, awarded to states each year, support 4,000 such organizations. Priority must be given to
victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, and child abuse. In addition, state grantees must give priority to
underserved victims of violent crime, such as survivors of homicide victims and victims of assault, robbery, burglary,
hate crimes, drunk drivers, fraud, and elder abuse, among others.

All states and territories receive an annual VOCA victim assistance grant. Each state, the District of Columbia, and
the territories of the U.S. Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico receive a base amount of $500,000. The territories of
American Samoa, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands each receive a base amount of $200,000. Additional
funds are distributed based on population.

In addition, all 50 states, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and Guam have established
victim compensation programs. Each year, OVC offers eligible programs a grant equal to 40 to 60 percent of the
amount the program has awarded to crime victims from state revenue sources in the previous year. Every
compensation program reimburses victims for crime-related expenses, such as medical costs, mental health
counseling, funeral and burial costs, and lost wages or loss of support when other financial resources such as private
insurance or restitution are not available. The program must be operated by a state or territory and offer
compensation to victims and survivors of victims of compensable crimes, including crimes involving terrorism, drunk
driving, and domestic violence.

Each state VOCA grantee may retain up to 5 percent of each year’s grant to administer VOCA victim assistance and
compensation grant programs. State administrative dollars may be used to expand, enhance, and/or improve the
state’s previous level of effort in administrating the VOCA grant programs at the state level and to support activities
and costs that affect the delivery and quality of services to crime victims throughout the state. In this context, VOCA
administrative funds may be used to support GIS efforts, such as purchasing software, attending relevant training and
technical assistance meetings, and paying salaries and benefits for staff and consultants’ fees to administer a GIS
project.

Byrne Funds

The Bureau of Justice Assistance has one discretionary program, the Byrne Discretionary Grant Program. Under this
program, technical assistance and training grants can be awarded to states, local units of government, Indian tribes
and tribal organizations, individuals, educational institutions, private nonprofit organizations, and private commercial
organizations. Some discretionary awards are competitive, with a limited amount of funds made available to a
number of potential recipients. Byrne discretionary funds are awarded directly to criminal justice agencies and private
nonprofit organizations to support a comprehensive range of developmental and demonstration projects, technical
assistance and training, and public awareness activities and publications.

STOP Violence Against Women Formula Grants

The STOP (Services*Training*Officers*Prosecutors) Violence Against Women Formula Grants Program promotes the
development and implementation of effective, victim-centered law enforcement, prosecution, and court strategies to
address violent crimes against women. The program is dedicated to the development and enhancement of victim
services that involve victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, and stalking.

Technology initiatives are encouraged under the STOP formula program and may include “Developing, installing, or
expanding data collection and communication systems, including computerized systems, linking police, prosecution,
and the courts or for the purpose of identifying and tracking arrests, protection orders, violations of protection orders,
prosecutions, and convictions for violent crimes against women, including the crimes of sexual assault and domestic
violence.
NOTES
1. A collection of data organized specifically for rapid search and retrieval.

2. A spatial or geographic identifier refers to a location that can be defined geographically (e.g., street addresses,
block groups, neighborhoods, police districts, state or county boundaries).

3. A census tract is a boundary created by the U.S. Census Bureau that divides counties into subdivisions that
usually range in population from 2,500 to 8,000.

4. A polygon is any shape that is totally enclosed (e.g., circle, square) or any irregular shape that can be defined,
such as census tracts, state or county boundaries, and school districts.

5. When a database is linked to the graphics software, integrated disparate datasets are referred to as layers of
information because they are displayed in map form.

6. Features are items such as schools, roads, bus stops, churches, or service providers referenced in a query.

7. A street centerline refers to the GIS street file with street name and block ranges attached in a database.

8. Cartography is the art or science of making maps.

9. For more information about crime mapping, visit the MAPS Web site at www.ojp.usdoj.gov/nij/maps.

10. Spatially contextualizing the data refers to layering information in an attempt to reveal new or previously
unrecognized relationships that exist between disparate datasets, such as crime and public housing.

11. The Community Policing Beat Book software was developed under a cooperative agreement between NIJ and
ESRI. The application, user manual, and relevant documents can be downloaded
at www.esri.com/industries/lawenforce/resources/beatbook.html.

12. Although the general walking distance to a bus route is approximately 1/4 mile, this distance depends on various
factors, such as age, neighborhood conditions, and accessibility for people with disabilities.

13. Networking takes into consideration one-way streets, speed limits, and traffic congestion. This technique is used
by MapQuest.

14. Ad hoc is a user-defined query that allows you to select specific data from all of the data integrated into the GIS.

15. A customized query is one that is predefined based on user needs; the user does not have access to all data.

16. Data sharing information can be found at www.search.org/integration/pdf/ExchangePoints.pdf (PDF File 400 kb).

17. Examples of different data formats that a GIS can integrate include text files generated from word processors
such as WordPerfect, Microsoft Word, and WordPad; spreadsheet files generated from software such as Excel,
Quattro Pro, and Lotus; and .dbf files such as Access, Paradox, and dBASE V.

18. Violence Against Women Office, STOP Violence Against Women Formula Grant Program Fiscal Year 2002
Application Guidelines,  U.S. Department of Justice, Violence Against Women Office, 2001.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
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for Safe Communities. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, National Partnership for Reinventing
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Harries, Keith D. 1999. Mapping Crime: Principle and Practice. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Justice, Office
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Kelling, George L. 1997. Fixing Broken Windows, Restoring Order and Reducing Crime in Our Communities, 19. New
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La Vigne, Nancy, and Julie Wartell. 1998. Crime Mapping Case Studies: Successes in the Field  (Volume 1). Crime
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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
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Boggs, Sarah L. 1965. “Urban Crime Patterns.” American Sociological Review 30:899–908.

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GLOSSARY
Ad hoc query: A query fashioned from all available data integrated into the GIS.

Cartography: The art or science of making maps.

Census tract: A boundary created by the U.S. Census Bureau that divides counties into populations ranging from
2,500 to 8,000.

Customized query: A predefined query based on user needs, used with systems in which the user does not have
access to all data.

Database: A collection of data organized especially for rapid search and retrieval.
Dataset: When a database is linked to the graphics software, integrated disparate datasets are referred to as layers
of information because they are displayed in map form.

Polygon: Any shape that is totally enclosed (e.g., circle, square) or any irregular shape that can be defined, such as
census tracts, state or county boundaries, and school districts.

Spatial data: Data that are identified with a geographical location, such as x–y coordinates in latitude and longitude,
state plane coordinates, street addresses, census tracts, counties, and ZIP Codes.

Spatial or geographic identifier: A location that can be defined geographically (e.g., street addresses, block groups,
neighborhoods, police districts, state or county boundaries).

Street centerline: Lines on a map that represent roads; the yellow dashes that separate a two-way street.